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November 16, 2005

Busy Booker day in the First Circuit

Thanks to the always helpful Appellate Law & Procedure, I see that the First Circuit had a busy Booker day. From a quick scan of AL&P's posts on the three Booker rulings, which are here and here and here, it does not appear that the First Circuit broke any significant new ground.

Of the bunch, US v. Morrisette, No. 04-2387 (1st Cir. Nov. 16, 2005) (available here), is perhaps the most notable because of its holding that Blakely and Booker are inapplicable to "safety-valve" eligibility findings because "Blakely, and by extension Booker, expressly relate only to the constitutionality of judicial factfinding which results in sentencing enhancements, not to sentencing reductions" (emphasis in original).